Superdelegates begin moving toward Obama
Obama picks up at least nine new superdelegates, bringing him to the brink of clinching the Democratic nomination for president. Clinton says she is 'open' to accepting the vice presidential nomination.
WASHINGTON--Democratic Party superdelegates began to move in large numbers today to Barack Obama, bringing him to the brink of winning the party's presidential nomination over Hillary Rodham Clinton.
As voters went to the polls in South Dakota and Montana, the final two states to hold primary elections, Obama picked up at least nine superdelegates who had until now remained neutral or supported other candidates in the 16 months of campaigning. The Associated Press projected that Obama would gain enough delegates to be able to claim the nomination tonight, becoming the first African American to lead a major party in its campaign for the White House. Obama, 46, would face Republican John McCain, 71.
Sen. Clinton, during a phone call with the New York congressional delegation, said she was open to serving as Obama's vice president.
Democratic delegates: A graphic in some editions of Wednesday's Section A contained inaccurate delegate totals. A corrected version appears on A16 today. Also, a map showing the state-by-state victories of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton wrongly depicted Massachusetts going to Obama and Connecticut and Delaware going to Clinton. In fact, the reverse is true.
When Rep. Nydia Velazquez said that Obama could best win over Hispanic voters by choosing Clinton as his running mate, the New York senator said, "I am open to it," according to the Associated Press.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, a staunch Clinton supporter, called today "a moment of truth." She urged party unity and said it is not "in the best interest of winning in November" to continue the primary process. She also said she is "a very strong supporter of Hillary being placed on ticket as a vice presidential candidate."
Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, who announced today that he would back Obama, also predicted that the Illinois senator would have enough support by tonight to claim the nomination.
The Obama campaign's own calculation had him about 30 delegate votes shy of the 2,118 needed to clinch the nomination. That tally did not include any delegates that Obama is expected to win from Montana or South Dakota this evening.Clinton has been arguing to superdelegates that her victories in recent state primaries show that she is the candidate best able to beat McCain in the general election. But Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said today that if Obama "gets the number, I think Hillary Clinton will congratulate him and call him the nominee."
Several high-profile superdelegates, who are free to cast their convention votes however they choose, have yet to declare their intentions. The list includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, former Vice President Al Gore, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois and two Democrats who campaigned for the Democratic nomination -- Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.
